The invention relates generally to measurement systems and, more particularly, to integrated measurement systems using optical sensors.
Many systems are subjected to effects such as stress and heat, which may be detrimental to the structural integrity of a system. Further, systems such as wind turbines are subjected to lightning hits, which can be detrimental to the wind turbine blade structure. Wind turbines, in particular, are generally subjected to a high risk of lightning strikes as they are preferentially placed at high and windy locations in order to achieve high productivity. For wind turbine blade monitoring, the mechanical stresses are as important as the localization and classification of lightning impacts. Such systems beneficially require the monitoring of current and magnetic field along with stress and temperature.
Currently, to monitor various parameters, individual measurement systems are used to monitor each parameter. Individual monitoring results in separate interrogation, detection, and data acquisition systems, which may give rise to additional cost and space constraints for many systems.
Therefore, there is a need for measurement systems and methods for measuring a plurality of parameters without the aforementioned drawbacks.